Ahoy, mateys!

For the whole of the year, you may be a land lubber, but today be the day of talkin’ like a buccaneer. All those found not takin’ part will be labeled a lily-livered scallywag if e’er there was one. And any scurvy dog who dare insult us gentlemen and ladies o’ fortune, will soon find themselves countin’ doubloons in Davy Jones’ Locker.

Now, to further the celebratin’ of this great, grand day, I present to you some of the fiercest swashbucklers to e’er hoist the Jolly Roger.

-          Dread Pirate Roberts

o       He be most likely killin’ ye in the mornin’, but he serves a fine grog in the evenin’. I hear it be laced with iocane powder.

-          Morgan Adams

o       A lady o’ fortune willin’ to scalp her dear departed father for a treasure map and kill her uncle in pursuit of the booty? Not a lass to be trifled with.

-          Black Stache

o       Now, here be a man of sweet trade who be most impressive. At least when speakin’ of his mustache. When it comes to fightin’ children? That thar be a different topic.

-          Jean LaFoote

o       Any buccaneer who attempt to bring such sweet treasure, be good enough for me.

-          Captain Brickbeard

o       He be sportin’ a peg leg, hook hand, and but one eye. I pity the wretch who tries crossin’ ‘im.

Who be your favorite buccaneers? Leave their names below, so we may all lift a flask in their honor.

Now, be on your way. It be time for each of us to go on the account. But, avast! If you be looking for more information, or perhaps just needing a bit of advice, cast your attention in this direction or, perhaps, here.

Fare thee well, me hearties! I’ll be seein’ ye on the Fiddler’s Green.

Trust Issues

Recently, I’ve been watching a lot of BBC’s Sherlock, an absolutely excellent show.

In the first episode Watson asks DI Lestrade why he’s put up with Sherlock for five years. Lestrade responds, “Because Sherlock Holmes is a great man, and I think one day – if we’re very, very lucky – he might even be a good one.”

That one sentence summed up what I love about this character.

I’ve already mentioned that I have a fondness for characters who behave badly, but beyond that I really love characters that I can’t trust. The characters who are just as likely to make the wrong choice, as the right, and will probably enjoy it more. I’m talking about heroes here, not villains (though a villain who occasionally makes the right choice is much more interesting than one who is just pure evil).

So, I like the heroes who flirt with callousness on a good day, and villainy on the bad ones. I like feeling uncertain over whether or not they’ll choose the high road. I even enjoy how disappointed I am when they don’t. Now, I doubt this level of distrust in my real life relationships would be in anyway enjoyable. But in a story? Nothing keeps me more invested.

To really keep me hooked, though, there has to be that potential for “good.” If I don’t believe that the character could really, under it all, be a good person, I may enjoy their antics for awhile, but I’m probably not going to root for them in the long run. If a story can, however, convince me of this potential, I’ll cheer whenever those characters meet it and I’ll hurt for them whenever they fall short, even if in that moment of the story, they don’t care. Regardless of whether those characters make me angry, I’ll still be pulling for them to redeem themselves.

This is why no matter how entertaining the mysteries might be, the reason I keep watching Sherlock is for the internal struggle. That’s the outcome I’m really interested in.

Genre Faves Blogfest

Hey everyone!

This morning (thanks to Liz Fichera), I'm participating in the "Genre Faves Blogfest." Interested in joining in? Go visit Ninja Captain Alex!

The challenge is to list your favorite genre of movies, musics and books, PLUS a guilty pleasure from any one of those categories. This is certainly a difficult one for me. As you know, I tend to be mildly obsessed with all three of these areas (except, you know, minus the "mildly"). So, here are today's Kelly's answers. Who knows what tommorow's Kelly would say about this.


Movies: Screwball comedies from the mid '30s to mid '40s. (Starting with the famous Walls of Jericho all the way through to the Brewster aunts' elderberry wine.)

Music: Jazz (particularly anything by Ella Fitzgerald)

Books: Contemporary fantasy (give me a modern setting populated by myth and magic, I'm there)

Guilty Pleasure: Oh goodness, I have so many. I've already mentioned one of my movie ones (and I share Roomie's. Yes, that does mean that I spent $15 to see Step Up 3D in the theater. Stop judging.), so here's one for the books. Ghost stories. My family and I went to a lot of historical (particularly Civil War) sites when I was a kid. Could never resist picking up a book of local ghost stories. The habit still stands.


There are mine. Now, let's hear yours!

Time Traveling Tunes

I'm here to tell you, time travel is not only possible, but I take part in it fairly regularly.

My time machine of choice - music.

I know, I know. It seems mundane, but do you have any idea how much a DeLorean costs? Plus, with everyone having cellphones, there are fewer and fewer phone booths for me to utilize during my excellent adventures. And I'm on the wrong side of the pond to access the Tardis. All in all, given financial and geographic limitations, music is currently my best option.

The songs that really move me quickly through time are the one that are also attached to favorite movies of my childhood. They bring up all sorts of memories of who I watched them with, where I was at the time, what was going on in my life outside the viewing. It can be a fun side trip to make during the day and when I return, it's generally only about three to four minutes from when I left.

Here are a couple of my favored vehicles for time jumps:

 Side note on this one, I've heard rumors that Roomie likes to belt

this one out whenever she goes to her parents' and sees that 

they've changed anything. 

Much to my sister's chagrin, I used to pretend she was Averman 

when we sang along to this scene, just so I could give her 

noogies. Pay attention around 1:28 to see what I mean. 

 My friends and I haven't had too many "Which of the Sex in the 

City quartet are you?" conversations. But we've had plenty of

such talks involving these girls. I'm totally Samantha, by

the way. Who doesn't want to write a book called

The Aliens Next Door? 

Each one of these songs is so indelibly tied to my memories of childhood that all I need to hear are the first few notes and nostalgia rises up in the ol' chest cavity.

What tunes get your wistful reminiscences going?

My introduction to magic...

The books I read when I was a kid have had the most lasting impact on my life. I think this can be said for many people. I know that it can be said for Roald Dahl’s Matilda. After all, he wrote:

So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone.

This is probably why Matilda was my favorite Dahl book growing up. Matilda and I shared similar views on reading. Well, that, plus she could move things with her mind. A power that I intensely wanted as a child (and, to be honest, continue to as an adult).

I enjoyed all of Dahl’s books. I never looked at peach pits the same way again, always interested to find out if there was a party going on inside. I often sent thoughts of thanks to the BFG after a particularly good dream. I checked all my chocolate bars for golden tickets, just in case there was a contest going on that hadn’t been publicized. And looking back on it, though I held no love for Veruca, her experience in the Nut Room may have been what first got me looking at squirrels a little bit more carefully.

Still, it was bookish Matilda who won my heart. I didn’t even mind that at the end she was no longer telekinetic, as she was using more of her brain for school related activities. Because I knew, deep in my heart, that if she ever really needed it again, her power would return. In the mean time, being smart and happy was more than enough.

I think it was in The Minpins that Dahl wrote:

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.

Well thanks to Dahl and other authors of his ilk, I’ve always believed.

What about you?

Sick Day

Most days my body and I are great friends. We go on walking trips around the city together. We share ice cream. We run in slow motion through fields of poppies.

But then sometimes I do things to make it angry. Things like paintballing when I’m really not good at paintballing and bruising the poor thing all up. As of result of these moments of inconsideration, my body gets angry. Now, sometimes the ol’ gal can rise above the pettiness and just let things relax back to normal, but other times I just irk her so much that she must have her revenge.

Thus, I am with fever and writing this from bed.

Now, some may not see the causality between my paintballing over two weeks ago and my illness today, but I know what’s up. My body’s a wily one and is known for playing the long game.

Lest you be put off by my feverish ramblings, let me assure you that I am doing my utmost to return myself to the state of health of which I am accustomed. I have everything necessary to mend the fissure between myself and my body:



-          Copious amounts of tea and chicken noodle soup. (I’m a traditionalist.)

-          Pile of books I’ve been looking forward to reading, including:
o       A Sliver of Shadow, Allison Pang
o       Blackbirds, Chuck Wendig
o       The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
o       A Charmed Death, Madelyn Alt
o       Ever, Gail Carson Levine

-          The Unusuals on DVD. (If the folks from the 2^nd can’t make me feel better, I’m pretty sure my body has officially sided with the squirrels.)

All right, now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to moaning.

In Remembrance

I'm feeling reflective today. Thinking about where we've been, where we're headed, and the people who help us through the hard times. So, I'm not going to bog today's post down with too many words.

During one of the harder times in my life, my aunt sent me a CD of songs to lift my spirits. On days like today, one of her selections always pops into my head:

My thoughts and prayers go out to all who lost loved ones eleven years ago and all my admiration to those who risked their lives to save others.

Autumn Approaches...

The first day of fall is still a couple weeks off, but I’m already in a fall-y mood, it being my preferred season and all. Pretty much as soon as Labor Day passes, I make the transition. I think it’s my years of schooling. I’m just programmed to see yellow buses and think “Fall, thou have arrived.” It’s around this time of year that I am beset by the sudden desire to buy notebooks and pencil cases and maybe one or two Trapper Keepers.

Then there are the food options. Who doesn’t want everything to be pumpkin spiced, or, at the very least, sporting a heavy current of cinnamon? People who I don’t want to hang out with, that’s who.

And I don’t know about you, but I am the type of person who mentally equates certain genres of books with certain seasons. Not that I wouldn’t read the specified genres at other times of the year, but when the seasons change, I find myself leaning toward particular book choices. And the fall means it’s time for some mysteries. My classic “comfort food” author of the fall is always Agatha Christie. There’s something about reading one of her stories as the hot and cold weather battle for supremacy that just enhances the experience for me. And if the day is just a touch dreary, all the better.

There are some downsides to the seasonal change, of course. Football will now be on in the apartment every Sunday night. It’s the one aspect of fall that Roomie actually likes. She’s a summer person (yes, given this information, how the two of us have remained friends for so many years is a mystery to me too). But even football has a silver lining. I get to watch that silly robot dance. And any day that involves dancing robots just really can’t be all that bad.  

How about you? Any fall-type changes you’re looking forward to? Any authors who you particularly enjoy as the weather turns chilly?

Whilst I await your answers, I’m going to go grab my copy of Cat Among the Pigeons and watch the leaves change.

Bad Movies, Good Party Themes: Two of a Kind '80s Celebration

Hey Party People!

So, I totally know what you've been thinking lately.

Man, John Travolta and Olivia Newton John are fresh! But there are only so many times I can watch Grease. It would be wicked if they'd done something else together.

It's like I read your minds, right? No, I'm not psychic, this is just what everyone thinks. Trust me.

So, first things first, there is no such thing as watching Grease too many times. No. Such. Thing.

But, I can still help you out.

Join me in the viewing of the 1983 cinematic classic Two of a Kind*, starring none other than Mr. Travolta and Ms. Newton John. And, of course, Gene Hackman as the voice of God. Complete with edible sunglasses, bank robberies, a pair of the goofiest gangsters I've ever seen, and enough time freezes to make Zack Morris jealous, this is a film that is sure to make you sit up, take notice, and think, Well....that was certainly a movie.

No, this sadly isn't a musical. But, with the soundtrack being made up almost entirely of Olivia Newton John songs, sometimes you'll think maybe it is.

In keeping with the righteous time frame of the movie, the theme of the night will be the '80s. Appropriate threads are highly encouraged. If you choose not to partake, you will totally be labeled grody to the max. Just fair warning.  

*Not to be confused with the Olsen twins' late '90s TV show of the same name. The one thing this movie is sadly missing is the hijinks of Mary-Kate and Ashley swapping identities.  

Crackerjack dialogue to look forward to: 

-          "Two days!?! It took you six days to create the world!"

-          "Both of us will be out of business if those two don't fall hopelessly in love!"

-          "All I know is that the place was flooded and then everyone started throwing food. That's all I know."

For a Two of a Kind '80s Celebration of your very own, here's what you'll need:

-          Two of A Kind (1983) 

-          Spectacularly ‘80s outfit - think neon, acid-washed, cropped sweatshirts, parachute pants. Thankfully, all of the preceding suggestions work for men and women. Thank you ‘80s for the gender neutrality of your bizarre stylings! 

-          Snacks - You can go the candy route with some Razzles and Pop Rocks. Or maybe you just want to make something that looks ‘80s-tastic. I favor the neon cake.

 

  

-          Decorations – Throw a Slinky on the end table, one of the Cabbage Patch Kids and a Glow Worm on the couch. Put a couple of photos of your favorite stars up on the wall. Or more than a couple….I certainly won’t judge. 

Add a few glow sticks and some gold lamé folderol? You’re good to go.  

-     A bitchin' sign of slang phrases from the chose decade. Just in case, for some bizarre reason, your guests can't remember. (Gag me with a spoon, right?) 

-    A group of retro enthusiasts and/or Rubik's cube champions and/or individuals who can do the dance from Saturday Night Fever whilst singing "Let's Get Physical" and not miss a beat.

Now, I've gotta book, but I hope you have a totally awesome weekend! 

Not-So-Guilty Pleasures: The Liz Fichera Edition

Welcome to this week's installment of Not-So-Guilty Pleasures! (cue flashing lights and theme song you're guaranteed to both hate and be humming for the rest of eternity)

Liz Fichera, come on down!

Some of you may remember Ms. Fichera from the post she inspired here about a month ago. Well, today she's here to spill her guts. So, without further ado, I'm getting out of the way.

Guilty Pleasures: Only 5?!

For me, choosing only five guilty pleasures was as difficult as choosing between milk chocolate and dark chocolate.  So rather than list pages and pleasures of the little darlings, I decided to categorize them. 

Without further ado, here are mine:

1. Food.  When I’m in the middle of a writing deadline, I have first-hand experience that a girl can exist on cheese pizza and dark chocolate with sea salt, although your hips probably wouldn’t appreciate it longer than a few days.  When I want to indulge in a food guilty pleasure, I reach for these comfort foods, with macaroni and cheese coming in as a close second. 

2. Television. This is embarrassing.  But I am addicted to the Housewives of the OC, NJ, and NYC shows.  I know.  These shows are train wrecks of epic proportions and I blame my sister for this error in my television judgment.  But I can’t believe these women walk the earth.  Seriously. 

3. Movies.  I adore watching old westerns and campy black and white horror flicks on rainy Saturday afternoons.  Since I live in the desert, this does not happen very often. 

4. Books. I read across genres and usually read at least two books a week.  I can’t get enough of realistic contemporary YA at the moment.  More, please!

5. Spa Treatments. If I could afford it, I would hire a full-time masseuse.  There is nothing better than an hour-long neck and back massage, maybe except for that dark chocolate with sea salt that I mentioned above…

Bio: 

Liz Fichera is an author living in the American Southwest.  She likes to write stories about ordinary teens that do extraordinary things.  Her debut young adult novel Hooked releases from HarlequinTEEN in January of 2013.  You can connect with her at www.LizFichera.com.



*Hey Liz! Just wanted to butt in for a minute to say that I'm completely with you regarding number five. If it wasn't for our lack of geographical proximity, I'd totally be willing to go half-sies.